Winch issues

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Mattln106
Winch master
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2016 5:10 pm

Winch issues

Postby Mattln106 » Fri Jul 29, 2016 9:39 am

Hi guys, having issues with my winch Jamin up. It's a El cheapo ridge rider with steel wire that came on my ln106 i recently purchased. Havnt had much to do with winches, so don't really know where to start. Any winch info would be great. I used it a couple times to pull some trucks out. Worked good. But had an issue of it coming un done where it loops onto winch. Also had Jaming issues. Is the key to always keep good tension on rope when retracting? At this stage synthetic rope is looking like a good option. Cheers

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kbushnz
Hard Yaka
Posts: 2486
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2009 9:03 am
Location: Massey, Auckland

Re: Winch issues

Postby kbushnz » Fri Jul 29, 2016 9:51 am

Wire rope is a pain on the butt.... But it has its place..
As for jamming up? How is it jamming...
Wire spooling up in the middle or to one side?
Or is the drum jamming.

Its common for both steel and plasma to build up depending on how you are winching....
Its good practice to unspool the rope and re set it nice and even every now and again. Sometimes several times when on a trip.
Just spool it out, attach to a tree or immovable object, winch in with some resistance / tension on the rope.
Having a second person help the rope spool evenly on the drum helps (well to get it started)

Safety first, wear gloves as wire rope can have sprags of wire sticking out. Also hands away from the drum / hawse. You can imagine catching a sprag on and glove and getting hand dragged into hawse.

If the drum is binding it could have a sticky brake and may need disassembly / clean...
Just be mindful of how it goes together...
Cheers Calvin
KZJ78 Landcruiser Prado...

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muddy
Hard Yaka
Posts: 668
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2005 12:00 pm
Location: Blenheim

Re: Winch issues

Postby muddy » Fri Jul 29, 2016 2:51 pm

Be aware that the Ridge Ryder winch has a pretty shitty brake mechanism. It actually locks on under load - so you cant release the tension by winding out on the motor. This may be what you mean by "jamming"? You need to winch far enough so you can drive forward to remove the tension on the rope. Also - for the same reason you should avoid unwinding the rope using the winch motor as it drags against the brake mechanism which will wear out VERY quickly or smash itself to pieces - and if (when) it does, you will lose everything as the winch motor driveshaft through the centre of the drum to the planetary gears runs through the brake mechanism. After failure - it's not too hard to weld up so you have a useable winch - but without any brake system. So fine for pulling through mud holes - not great on steep hills...
So when pulling the rope out - use the freespool. It's not a great free-spool mechanism either, but with freespool engaged, it is safe to use the motor to assist unwinding as the freespool releases if from the brake mechanism.

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